The London-Norwich
Royal Mail Coach is probably the most famous
coach in Great Britain today.

Over the past 30
years it has carried people from all walks of
life, including members of the Royal Family,

politicians and
celebrities.

It has visited
most of the major towns and cities in the United
Kingdom, galloped up racecourses,

attended shows to
carry VIP's and give displays, helped raised
money for charity and featured in

books and on
television. On every occasion it has been driven
by John Parker and pulled

by his Hungarian
Greys.

Breaking
the Team Change World Record

It's history can be traced
back to 1870, but it is believed to be
considerably older. Weighing 1.25 tons

without passengers and,
like all mail coaches, painted black with scarlet
wheels and undercarriage,

the number N205 identifies
the route travelled as London-Norwich.

The coach was re-registered
in 1967 enabling it to carry the Royal Mail,
hence the crown of the modern era on the body. It
one of only two coaches currently accorded this
honour in the modern era. It was also one of the
first built to carry passengers. The Guard
protected the Royal Mail and passengers from
highwaymen, and also acted as the hornblower
alerting people to the arrival of the Mail.

John Parker bought the
coach in the early 1960's. It is known that it
was owned by James Selby who

drove it until his death in
1888. James Selby himself had two entries in the
Record Books - one for the

longest distance ever
driven by one coachman and the other for the
fastest time a team of horses could be

changed for another -
namely 47.2 seconds, set in 1888.

Crowds at Norwich Cathedral welcoming John at
the end of his epic 139 mile journey.

A century later, John
Parker and the coach have broken both these
records. Johns' grooms reduced the

time for the team change to
an incredible 21.2 seconds, and in 1996 John
broke the long distance record

when he drove the coach non-stop
from the Guildhall in London to Norwich Cathedral
in 21.5 hours, a

distance of 139 miles.

During this run, at 1.00 am
in the morning, the Post Mistress of Kelvedon
Post Office greeted the coach,

for it is still in Post
Office regulations that that an officer of the
Post Office must be present to receive the